One Thousand Leaves
by NessaMoon
Summary: Drabble/Short Story Collection. Stories that can't be told on their own, but are short, just a small glimpse in their lives. Minato asks Kushina a question.  Teuchi reflects on Naruto and remembers the past.  MinaKushi
1. Woods and Baby Tales

_In this tree, there are many leaves; each with their own story to tell. Stories that can't be told on their own, but are short, just a small glimpse in their lives. Here are one thousand leaves._

Welcome to this series of drabbles. This is for anything I wrote that's under so many words (roughly under 4,000, I have such high standards for myself). The title just comes from the idea that each leaf is a fic so therefore it would form a tree of drabbles. Okay, that might be lame, but I like my logic behind it. :p

Well, I hope you like this. ^_^

Pairings for this chapter: NaruHina, SasuSaku and a little SaiIno

The Stories for this Chapter  
The Words Where She Slept  
Baby Tale  
Baby Tale 2: Prequel

* * *

**Title:** The Woods Where She Slept**  
Genre:** General, drabble**  
Timeline:** After chapter 400**  
Summary:** Sasuke is on a mission, but encounters someone on his way.**  
Pairings:** SasuSaku**  
Rating:** G**  
Disclaimer:** Kishimoto owns all of Naruto. If I owned it, I likely wouldn't feel tormented right now (Kishi just loves to torture, don't ya?).**  
Author's Notes:** Inspired by a poem by Robert Frost.

Uchiha Sasuke jumped from tree branch to tree branch, toward his destination with little emotion on his face. The mission he had been assigned was minor in his eyes, likely a test concocted by Madara to test his loyalty. He gave it little thought when he received it and as he headed toward his objective; he would what he had to achieve his goal.

He continued tree hopping until he came across a small clearing the in the woods, which he quickly avoided by following the trees around it. His senses told him someone was in the clearing and he was not keen to meet anyone, even a stranger, in the Akatsuki robe he had to wear.

As he past the clearing, he glanced over to see if the person was a ninja or a civilian. His eyes widened as he came to a stop, the person in the clearing causing mild surprise. It could not be…? Could it?

He blinked, unsure if the image before him was real or not. A part of him hoped he was mistaken and it was not who he thought it was, but another part… He shut his eyes, trying to avoid those thoughts…thoughts that made him weak and unable to achieve revenge: precious bonds.

He twitched and, unable to hold his curiosity any longer, swiftly went through a series of hand signs, activating a jutsu that would allow him to sneak up on someone without setting off alarms, as long as he moved discreetly as a ninja should. It would be wasting energy to use it (it drained chakra worst than most high-powered jutsu in his arsenal), but he cared little about that. He just had to see the person in the clearing.

He took off the Akatsuki robe, placing it securely on the tree branch for safekeeping. Then he silently jumped into the clearing, avoiding the traps that had been laid and carefully snuck up on the pink-haired woman napping at the foot of a tree.

Sakura lay asleep in a dull green sleeping bag, alone in the middle of the woods. The first thought Sasuke had been that she should not be out by herself. _Must be on a mission, likely a low leveled one, if it's one person, and clearly not on a time table if she's sleeping…unless she's heading back?_ he reasoned, but then shook his head. Why was he thinking that? What possessed him to come into the clearing in the first place?

He took a step back, gazing down at Sakura as the memories of their last meeting flooded his mind unbidden. Nothing much had changed, at least in his eyes, since they had said goodbye nearly three years ago. She was better prepared (perhaps she trained more) judging from the pack that rested near her head, but otherwise, she seemed to be the same…except…

He recalled the way her eyes became determined after he had dealt with the others in their last meeting. The way she rushed at him before the jounin accompanying them intervened. He frowned at the memories; Sakura had not drastically changed in appearance, but she appeared to have changed in personality. He found that…strangely sad…for some reason. When he had first laid eyes on her after three years, he had not thought she had changed, but afterwards…

Again, he shook his head; his mouth reacting as if he had ate something disgusting. _There's no reason for me to be here. I need to leave, get the stupid scroll Madara wants and get back. This is distracting me,_ he told himself, but yet his body would not move. He looked back down at Sakura, his face softening. As much as he told himself he did not need or want her in his life (like with the rest of Team 7), the words sounded hollow and wrong, feelings he tried to squash lest it interfered with his goals.

But here, in these woods with no one around, no Madara, no Team Hawk, no Akatsuki, only a sleeping Sakura who would likely never know he had been here, he felt the need to suppress those feelings lessen. He knelt down; images of Team 7 flashing through his mind, images of him and Sakura overtaking them all, reached out a hand –

Clank! Clank! Clank!

Immediately, Sasuke jumped to the tree branches above him as the alarms Sakura had set went off. He turned to see Sakura rise up, kunai in hand (clearly she had been half asleep, like most Shinobi did when sleeping alone). "Who's there?" she said, her head turning in all directions for the possible enemy.

Sasuke stiffened, suppressing his panic, but his mind blank. If Sakura looked up, she would spot him and then…? What would happen? He could not think of his next move.

But then a squirrel popped out of the bushes, looking terrified, and Sakura relaxed. "Just a squirrel…why do they always set off my alarms?"

She got up, did a quick scan of the area before resetting the trap and going back to bed. Sasuke felt the tension leave him; she had not discovered him, however, a sense of sadness rose in its place. He would have to leave now before Sakura found him. He waited until he was sure she was asleep before retrieving his cloak and leaving the clearing behind.

He continued on his way to retrieve Madara's scroll, trying to avoid looking back at the clearing, to the pink haired teammate he had left behind, to the memories that threatened to overflow. He had his goals, his revenge, to focus on, nothing else. After all, it was all he had left now…and he still had a long ways to go before he got there.

He could not afford to stay behind in the woods, with Sakura, a girl he had left behind, wanting to touch her sleeping face. No matter how much a part of him had been content to stay there and watch her sleep.

* * *

**Title: **Baby Tale  
**Genre: **Humor  
**Timeline: **Post-Manga**  
Summary: **Naruto gets the question he never saw coming. "Daddy, where do babies come from?"**  
Pairings: **NaruHina, Implied SaiIno, SasuSaku**  
Rating: **G**  
****Author's Notes: **Inspired by a prompt to discuss Naruto and Hinata's children.

It was supposed to be a normal lunch break, an escape from the evil paperwork that unexpectedly popped up every time he thought he had finished it all. However, if he had known what was coming when he came home for some ramen, he would have gladly opted to stay in his office with his paperwork.

Hoshiko, in her blonde pig tails and orange jacket and matching pants, hopped into the kitchen with a determined, questioning look on her face. "Daddy, where do babies come from?" she asked while pulling on his orange jacket.

Naruto choked on a piece of pork at the question. This caused his daughter to look up; worry in her very pale blue eyes. "You okay, Daddy?"

He swallowed and then sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Of course, I'm fine. Heh! You just startled me, Hoshi-chan. I thought you were out playing." Which was true, he had come home to more or less an empty house.

"Oh," she said and then proceeded to once again pull on his clothes. "So are you going to answer my question? Where do babies come from?"

_What do I say?_ he thought frantically. _What do I say?_ This was not something he and Hinata had prepared for. Hoshiko and her twin brother, Haruki, were both only seven. They figured they would not have to worry about that question for awhile or until they or one of their friends had a baby. Only Sasuke and Sakura had had another child since their first born, but Hoshiko had been nearly three at the time and not asked. Clearly, they had miscalculated somewhere.

And he worried if he did not answer this right, Hinata would not be happy…or, more likely, he would face a very angry grandfather.

"Daddy?"

"Why do you want to know?" he asked, hoping to buy time to answer. He really needed the time.

Fortunately, the attempt to stall went unnoticed. Hoshiko went into a full explanation of why she wanted an answer. "Me and Haruki were playing with Inomaru in the park and he told us that he's getting a younger brother or sister. We asked him when and he said he didn't know, that Auntie Ino just found out. I got all excited because it means we get someone else to play with, but then Inomaru started to wonder again when he would get his younger brother or sister and that made me start to wonder where babies come from so we all went home to find out."

Naruto blinked. Hoshiko looked up expectantly for an answer. Great. So it appeared one of their friends was pregnant again. Normally he would be excited for Ino if he was not faced with his daughter asking a very important question he had not prepared for.

He would have to make up something right here. Now what exactly could he tell her? "Where's Haruki then?"

She became annoyed instead and that put him on edge. "He went to look it up in a book. I don't see why when you're here." That caused Naruto to smirk. Haruki would go look it up in a book. He was not worried about his son finding an answer, not in the books held in the Hyuuga library. It did not exist. Yet anyway. And Hoshiko would be annoyed over him looking it up in a book since she hated to read. She preferred her daddy to tell her stories.

And that gave him an idea. "Well, sweetie…babies come from…" He tried to remember the name… "Storks! Babies are delivered by storks."

His daughter looked at him with a confused expression. "Huh? What does a bird have to do with babies?"

Naruto tried to smile, tried to make it seem he was at ease instead of a nervous wreak. "Well, see Hoshi-chan, storks deliver babies. First they get a message from the storks telling the parents to expect a baby so they can prepare for the arrival. Months later, a stork shows up at the house with a baby in a bundle and that's where babies come from."

Again, a confused expression. Naruto waited nervously for a response. "So a stork brought me and Haruki to you and Mommy?"

"Yep!" responded Naruto, silently praying this was an acceptance. "That's right."

After a few tense seconds, Hoshiko smiled. "Okay! Thanks, Daddy!" And then she ran out of the kitchen, likely toward her room.

Naruto sighed, placing his head in his hands, grateful the question had gone smoothly. He would have to tell Hinata when he came in tonight. He was not sure what to do when they actually told her the truth, after, of course, she turned the more appropriate age. Although, he really did not want to think about that.

He turned back to his ramen, for some reason more anxious to get back to work than he had been to get out of it.

------------

"Daddy!!"

Naruto turned toward Hoshiko's angry voice, wondering exactly what he had done to get his daughter angry at him. It had been a few hours since she had posed the dreaded question and he had just got back from working for the day.

Hoshiko stormed into the entrance, her face squished in a child-like fury, a book in hand and a boy with dark blue spiky hair and white Hyuuga eyes, wearing a dark blue jumpsuit, Haruki, trailing behind her, looking confused. "You lied to me!" she yelled.

He cringed. _How did she figure that out?_ He really hoped she had not discovered the truth, but at least Hiashi would not skin him alive if she did. "Huh?" he said, deciding to figure out what she knew first.

She held out a book that happened to be about storks. "Haruki says storks don't deliver babies because it's not in this book on storks and he's right! The book doesn't have anything about delivering babies!" She brought the book down and glanced down at the floor. "I don't get it. Why did you lie?"

While Naruto tried to recover and think of something, Haruki took the book from his sister. "Hoshiko came to the library and told me what you said, Dad. I didn't think it sounded right so I got this book on storks. I couldn't find anything about what you said."

Naruto knelt down, trying to think of what to do next. He really did not want to admit he lied, not now. He hated lying, but his children were seven; he was not going to have an outright discussion on this subject. He knew what would be the result of it.

So he thought of something new to add. "Well, of course, it's not in that book." Naruto took the book from Haruki as the twins glanced up to focus on him. "These storks aren't Baby Delivering Storks so you won't find them in this book. Actually, you're not going to find Baby Delivering Storks in any book."

Of course, Haruki looked skeptical, gazing into his book as if to check if it held a missing page or something. Hoshiko just appeared interested. "How come? How come they're not in the book, Daddy?" she asked.

Naruto tried to smile and to appear at least somewhat knowledgeable. "Well, because it's a secret. Really, Hoshi-chan, if the storks let everyone know what they existed, people would be swarming the area they live in. They need peace and quiet for the babies. Most people don't know storks exist until they get married."

"Really, Dad?" Haruki still looked unconvinced. "Where do they live then?"

Instead of answering, Naruto shrugged. "Not sure. Again, no one actually knows. I think it's somewhere mountainous. Those are good hiding places. Storks don't talk when they deliver a baby." He grinned. "I don't remember our stork talking when he delivered you two."

That bit of info made Hoshiko squeal. "Really?! What did out stork look like, Daddy?"

Naruto scrunched up his face as if trying to remember. "Well, I think it looked like every other stork, except with a big bundle in its beak. Oh!" He snapped his figures as if remembering something important. "But it did have these colored tips on its tail feathers. I guess so you know it's a Baby Delivering Stork and not a normal stork."

Hoshiko looked happy, her pale eyes shimmering like she was imagining the stork. Haruki, on the other hand, appeared torn. "Umm Dad?" He looked down and shuffled his feet together like he was ashamed. "Do you – do you mind if I ask Mom about this?"

Ah. Haruki clearly did not want to offend him by saying he did not believe Naruto's story. He would have to get to Hinata before his son did, but for now, he simply placed a hand on the boy's head and smiled. "Sure, I don't mind. Go on and ask."

Haruki's face flushed, however, he muttered his thanks and quickly headed back into the house to find Hinata, Hoshiko following him saying she wanted to hear more about the stork from their mother.

And as they left, Naruto sighed in relief.

"Nice story there."

Naruto froze and then slowly turned around to see Hiashi in the doorway, his hands folded inside his robes and staring at him with seemingly neutral eyes.

Not exactly sure if he was in trouble or not, Naruto gradually stood up, grinned his famous grin and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I couldn't tell them the truth. They're only seven."

"Of course not." Then he turned to leave. "However, I think you should go find Hinata. She's already left the central part of the clan compound to come home."

Again, Naruto froze and then darted into the house to get to his wife before his children found her. He failed to notice the smirk on Hiashi's face as he did so.

-------------

Hinata was not sure what to say. She had been ready to make supper when Hoshiko and Haruki came into the kitchen asking about babies and storks. Of course, she had asked for an explanation and her daughter readily gave one to her, making her resemblance to her talkative father quite amusing. However, close to the end of the story, Naruto poked his head into the kitchen, went a quite pale shade of white and then mouthed, "Play along," to her.

So she did exactly that.

"So are they such things as a Baby Delivering Stork, Mom?" Haruki asked when his sister finished.

"Of course, they are," she said, smiling. "I remember the day I got a notice from a stork that I would be getting the two of you. It was one of the best days of my life."

Haruki looked confused, as if not sure what to believe. Hoshiko just loved it. "So storks really do deliver babies?" he asked.

"Yes, they do. Do you think your father would lie to you about something unless he had absolutely a good reason to do so?" she added, hoping that would calm him down.

And it did. Haruki relaxed considerable and Hoshiko just had to chime in. "Of course, Daddy wouldn't lie! So if he says storks deliver babies, then he must be right!"

"Okay," said Haruki. He glanced down at his book. "I guess I'll go put this up then." He walked out of the room with his sister following, jumping up and down, jabbering away like always.

When they were gone, Naruto appeared in the kitchen, greatly relieved that it went well. "Thanks, Hinata. Sorry to put you on the spot like that. I'll tell you all about it tonight." Then he cringed. "On second thought, I'll just tell you what I told the kids. Otherwise, someone might find various ways to torture me."

Hinata giggled, already guessing the cause of all this. One of their friends was pregnant and the news had filtered down to the children. _Poor Naruto-kun_, she thought. He had to come up with something all on his own. "It's okay, Naruto-kun. I'm glad this all worked out, through."

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, me, too. And I don't get beaten up by your father for this," he added, glancing over his shoulder as if Hiashi would appear any second.

"Father likes you, Naruto-kun." She was sure of that. Hyuuga elders may have had their doubts, but her father seemed to approve.

Naruto still gazed nervously over his shoulder. "If he does, he sure likes to keep me on my toes."

-------------

Hoshiko and Haruki were walking to the park the next day, all thoughts of storks and babies forgotten for the moment in favor of playing with their friends. They came up to Inomaru sitting on a bench, wearing a dark purple shirt, a black vest and pants with purple stripes, his notebook in hand, drawing like he always did.

Hoshiko ran up to him and asked eagerly, "What're you drawing, Inomaru?"

Instead of responding, he held up his notebook. It was a flower, a rather detailed one, too. It had pale petals with dark yellow tips and, strangely, a purple stem with black leaves. "It's a flower. Mom says this is how I was born."

This left the Uzumaki twins silent, but then Hoshiki issued a rapid denial. "No way! How do babies come from flowers? A stork brings babies." She nodded her head, her eyes closed so she could not see the shocked look on Inomaru's face.

Haruki glanced between the two of them, a bit frightened, obviously not wanting a fight to break out. "Our dad – he told us yesterday. A stork brings babies to parents. And Mom, well, she confirmed it, too." He glanced down at the ground, trying to appear causal, but failing to hide his unease.

Inomaru rarely got mad; in fact, he was usually very friendly, polite and social. However, this time, his eyes narrowed as he glared at the twins, he frowned and crossed his arms. "Well, my mom wouldn't lie to me about this. She owns one of the best flower shops in Konoha. If she said babies come from flowers, then of course, babies come from flowers."

"Our daddy wouldn't lie to us, either," retorted Hoshiko, not at all worried at causing a fight.

And that was the scene Uchiha Satoru came upon with his little sister Sonomi in tow. Hoshiko and Inomaru yelling at each other while Haruki tried to calm down the two of them. Satoru's dark green eyes gazed curiously over the fight, while his sister clung to his white shirt and blue vest, the fight scaring her.

"What's going on?" he asked.

The two of them told their side of the stories, at once! Luckly, Satoru pieced together enough to figure it out. And he scowled. "I can't believe you think all that's true. Well," he added as the three of them looked at him in disbelief, "I can understand Hoshiko believing because she's stupid like that, but the rest of you, it's hard to believe. Thought you were smarter than that."

"Hey!" Now Hoshiko had more to be mad at. Her face was red in anger at Satoru's insult. "I'm not stupid! Don't call me that!"

He 'hned' in response. "Clearly, you are, if you believe a story about storks delivering babies."

Inomaru glanced down at his drawing, not happy, while Haruki looked completely embarrassed. "Well…Dad – Dad wouldn't…" Haruki stumbled over his words. "Mom and Dad…they wouldn't…they wouldn't lie."

"I guess your parents told you where babies come from?" asked Inomaru, carefully gazing at the Uchiha boy for a response.

Satoru shrugged his shoulders. "Dad told me when Sonomi was born. I asked him while we were at the hospital and he told me it's something he and Mom do together. It's something special, but I can't know until I'm older so I shouldn't ask any more questions."

The three of them stared in response, not entirely believing him. "But…!" protested Hoshiko, "But...you were three when Sonomi was born! You remember that?!"

He sat down on the bench. Sonomi, now that no one was yelling at each other, danced around, showing off her new red sleeveless dress and matching red ribbon Sakura had gotten for her, her short pink hair flying around as she twirled. Satoru dug into his pockets in his blue shorts and brought out some fake shuriken. "Vaguely. But I remember enough."

At that, the three of them bolted, heading back to their respective homes for explanations from their parents. Satoru smirked at them leaving and twirled his shuriken in his hands.

Sonomi stopped dancing, climbed up on to the bench and started playing with her brother's black hair. "Why is this so important, Satoru-nii?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I didn't see anything wrong with what Dad told me." The whole situation confused him. Why exactly would their parents lie to Hoshiko, Haruki and Inomaru about something so silly?

"What do you think is so special about what Mommy and Daddy do?" questioned Sonomi. She had tied his hair up with a couple of blue ribbons and was now combing it out. Her brother ignored her efforts, not wanting to upset her over something minor.

Satoru had no idea what was so special, but adults did a lot of things he did not understand so he figured that was one of them. "Don't know, but Dad said not to ask him questions about it so I don't ask." He turned to his sister. "You probably shouldn't ask them about it either."

There was silence as he turned back to twirling his toy shuriken in his hands. Sonomi stared at her brother, her comb in hand, before chiming with a happy "Okay!" and then proceeding with brushing her brother's hair.

-------------

"Daddy! You lied again!!"

Naruto promptly banged his head down on his desk at his daughter's accusation. He was out of ideas. What exactly could have caused this?

Hinata got up from her desk, straightening out her causal dress and leaving the scrolls filled with clan financials and other things on the table. "I'll deal with this, Naruto-kun. Don't worry too much about it."

He groaned. "Thanks, Hinata. I'm really out of ideas." He hoped whatever it was, Hiashi would never hear of it.

The twins ran into the room, Hoshiko's face red with anger and Haruki with a hurt look. "Mommy! Daddy! Why? Why did you lie to us?" she demanded, standing with her hands on her hips like she caught her parents redheaded in something.

Hinata tried to smile in order to calm them down. "Now, now, what's going on? What makes you think we lied to you?"

Haruki shuffled from one foot to another, his body language screaming how uncomfortable he was. "We saw Inomaru today and he said Aunt Ino told him that babies come from flowers."

_Oh, great_, thought Naruto, cringing at his son's words. How exactly were they going to get out of this mess?

Before Hinata could response to Ino's theory on the facts of life, Hoshiko barged in with something else, "And then Satoru came around and he said we were both wrong, that babies don't come from storks or flowers and he called me stupid, too!"

Hinata looked caught, still smiling, but it looked more like an attempt to hide her nerves than an actual smile. "Oh? What did Satoru say then?" she asked, hoping more information would help in dealing with this situation.

"He said that Uncle Sasuke told him when Sonomi was born," said Hoshiko, "and that babies come from something Uncle Sasuke and Auntie Sakura do together and it's special and not to ask questions about it until he's older."

What happened next, Naruto was not sure. Perhaps it was because Sasuke had managed to tell his son this without making up any stories. Or maybe it was the fact that Sasuke had somehow managed to ruin this four years ago without any knowledge that it would happen. He was not sure, but whatever it was, it caused him to snap and race out of the house to the Uchiha compound.

"Naruto-kun!!" shouted Hinata, worried that another fight might happen between him and Sasuke. She rushed out of the room and happened to run into her father and Hanabi.

"Hinata-neesan?" questioned Hanabi at her frenzied state.

"Father, Hanabi, please watch the children," she asked and then quickly started out to get to Naruto in time. "I've got to go find Naruto-kun!"

The twins poked their head out of the doorway to see their mother leave the house. "What's going on?" asked Haruki.

Hanabi still looked confused, but Hiashi just smirked and herded the children back into the room. "I'm not sure," he said, through he had a good idea on what had happened. "However, I'm sure your mother can handle it."

"I don't know," said Hoshiko, sulking. "They lied to us, Grandpa!"

"Lied?" questioned Hanabi.

Hiashi chuckled at his second daughter and granddaughter's behavior. "I'm sure they had a good reason."

The twins glanced at each other, not convinced at this explanation. "Why would they have a good reason?" asked Haruki. "All we asked was where babies come from."

And that's when Hanabi started laughing.

* * *

**Title: **Baby Tale 2: Prequel**  
Genre: **Humor**  
Timeline: **Post Manga**  
Summary: **Sakura is having her second child and Sasuke gets a question he's not quite prepared for.**  
Pairings: **SasuSaku**  
Rating: **G  
**Author's Notes: **Inspired by the same prompt as above, only this one focuses SasuSaku and the untimely events that led to Naruto's genius plan falling apart. XD

Sasuke hated hospitals. More often than not, he ended up here after missions. It was not because he preformed them badly, but because trouble often found him and…it just happened.

This time, through, he was not here because of a mission. He was here because Sakura had just gone into labor with their second child. And regardless of the fact that she had gone through this once before and in the capable hands of Tsunade and Shizune, it made Sasuke nervous and, not one to admit it, helpless.

So here he sat in the waiting room, glancing up the hall with an irritated look on his face, waiting for Tsunade or Shizune one to come by and give him an update on Sakura. His nearly two year old son, Satoru, sat next to him, swinging his legs back and forth, looking both bored and confused.

_Surely, it doesn't take this long to get Sakura ready for delivery?_ he thought, his impatience getting the best of him. For some reason, he could not remember Satoru's delivery being this nerve-whacking.

"Daddy?"

Sasuke jumped, startled at his son's sudden question. He looked down at the boy, a shocking resemblance to himself as a child, except with dark green eyes instead of the more famous Uchiha black. Those eyes stared back at him, filled with curiosity. He grimaced and tried to force back his annoyance at waiting for word on Sakura. "What is it, Satoru?"

His son bit his lip. He was almost two and a bit shy around people. Always curious and eager to please, especially with Sasuke. He often wondered if this would mean Satoru became more like him in personality as well as looks.

Sensing a little indecision, Sasuke forced a smile on his face and placed a hand on Satoru's shoulder. "Go on. You can ask me anything you want."

Again, the biting of the lip, but then he released it. "Where do babies come from?" he asked.

Sasuke blinked. That was not what he had been expecting. Throughout Sakura's pregnancy, Satoru had loved the idea of having a baby sister, stared in awe of at her growing abdomen, but otherwise had not asked too many questions. It made them wonder, but happy they did not have to explain.

But of course, he would have to ask when they had not prepared for it, when Sakura was away and unable to give suggestions. _Great. Just great._ His mind raced, trying to figure out what exactly to tell him. Unfortunately, he was drawing a blank.

Satoru stared up at him, seemingly bewildered by the silence. "Daddy? Something wrong?"

At once, he felt his face heat up. There was no way he could tell his son the truth, however, he could not think of anything else to say either. But if he could not figure out something quick, he was not sure how Satoru would react to not getting an answer. "Well…" he said, "Son…babies are…" Sasuke trailed off, avoiding his son's eyes, hoping something would come to him quickly.

The words seem to excite Satoru, through. He slid to the edge of his seat, gazing anxiously up at his father. "Babies are..." he repeated, "what, Daddy?"

Closing his eyes, Sasuke grimaced. He had been the top rookie in his class, famed for his ninja skills, but yet he could not come up with an explanation on where babies came from. So he opted for a truthful, simple, yet not the complete truth, account. He cleared his throat, trying to rid himself of his nervousness. "Well…a Mommy and Daddy do something together that causes a baby to be come," he said. _Okay, that's truthful, but not scarring._

His son blinked, still very confused. "You and Mommy do something?" He moved from sitting on the edge of his seat to sitting on his knees in the chair, facing Sasuke and holding the arm rest. "What do you do?"

He hoped his response was not too startled or shocked at the additional question. The sudden thought of _that_ and his son knowing about it made him very uneasy. He pushed it away, however, and instead, tried to focus on answering the question. "It's something…very…special." There, that was safe. "However, it's something you really don't need to worry about right now, Satoru," he added, in hopes this would stop the questions, gently, of course. "When you're older, you'll find out, but right now, it's best not to ask questions."

Sasuke watched his son, holding his breath, anxious that this would end the conversation, but at the same time not make Satoru think he was ignoring him or anything like that. The boy's face was blank for a bit, but then he turned around and sat back down normally. "Older?" he asked, facing his father once again. "Like six…or seven?"

_Too young!_ Sasuke tried to relax. At the same time, this seemed to be slowing down. "No," he said, smirking. "How about this?" He turned to his son and gently placed his hand on the boy's head. "I'll tell you when it's time to explain this more, all right?"

Satoru continued to have a blank expression on his face, but Sasuke figured this was the end of the questions. Sure enough, Satoru turned around, stared curiously at the floor and said, "So you'll tell me when I'm older and I can't ask you anything 'bout it 'til then?"

Sasuke sighed in relief, grateful this did not turn out to be a disaster. "That's right." He smirked and crossed his arms. "Don't worry about it too much, Satoru. You'll understand why when you're older. Just trust me on this, Son."

The child nodded. "Okay, Daddy. I trust you." And he went back to swinging his legs back and forth like before.

With the dreaded question over with, Sasuke relaxed and went back to wondering when word would come about Sakura, the incident with Satoru now in the back of his mind. An hour later, Naruto and Hinata stopped by to take Satoru and keep him for the final moments of Sakura's pregnancy and an hour after that, Tsunade finally came to inform him on Sakura's progress. He would, of course, tell his wife what happened after everything was over.

He thought there would be no more problems after that.

* * *

Well, I hope you enjoyed these. I have no idea when I'll update this. I don't write drabbles often and I set a high word count for myself when writing so I don't think I'll have a lot of fics ready to update with. But if I ever do have enough drabbles or short stories, I will certainly update as soon as I can! ^_^

Thanks for reading! - NessaMoon


	2. Hokage and Welcome

_In this tree, there are many leaves; each with their own story to tell. Stories that can't be told on their own, but are short, just a small glimpse in their lives. Here are one thousand leaves._

Hi, again! This is my collection of very short stories, in case you're skipping the first chapter. Basically, this is for anything I wrote that's under so many words (roughly under 4,000, I have such high standards for myself). The title just comes from the idea that each leaf is a fic so therefore it would form a tree of drabbles. Okay, that might be lame, but I like my logic behind it. :p

Spoilers for any chapter before 500! Nothing after that, but before...definitely!

Enjoy!

Pairings for this chapter: MinaKushi!

The Stories for this Chapter  
Second Way to Become Hokage  
Always Welcome

* * *

**Title:** The Second Way to become Hokage!**  
Genre:** Romance**  
Timeline:** Pre-Naruto Manga**  
Summary:** Minato's become Hokage, but he wants to share it with one person. Only how can he proposal such a thing to a tomboy?**  
Pairings:** MinaKushi**  
Rating:** G**  
Disclaimer:** Not mine. Kishimoto owns everything including the awesomeness that is MinaKushi. Write more about them, Kishi! XD**  
Author's Note:** Inspired by Minato and Kushina's conflicting dreams to become Hokage

She was sitting on a large tree root, under the shade, her face showing all the displeasure he needed to know she felt. Namikaze Minato sighed, shifting the Hokage hat in his hand. He had just been nominated to succeed Sarutobi. He had attained his dream of becoming Hokage, to be acknowledged as he wished as a child. But with all dreams that shared a goal with one role, because he had fulfilled his, someone else had to lose theirs.

He walked over to where Kushina sat. He settled down on the root and nervously smiled. "Hi. Can I sit here, Kushina?"

She glanced toward him, no doubt also eying the red and white hat in his hands. "I don't see why you can't," she said, her voice not detailing if she were angry or upset with him.

They had been together for a long time. Since the day she had been introduced in his class, he had kept his eye on her. Nothing bad; just noticing when she was in the area, perking up when her name was mentioned. He had felt drawn to her. At first, he had no idea why, so he had just shrugged it off, trying to focus on training and creating a few jutsu that would later become the Rasengan and Hiraishin.

She, on the other hand, sometimes would come up to him, challenging him because they shared the same goals. She had said he was too girly to be Hokage. Minato just shrugged it off, not entirely too concerned with the competition. Eventually, it evolved into more of a friendly rivalry than hated rivals.

Jiraiya would later call her his girlfriend, a fact he denied over and over when he was young.

Then came when she was kidnapped and he had been one of those tasked to find her. While the red strains of hair remained unseen by others, he had seen it and followed the trail. Somehow, after all of that, things had changed and their relationship had become something more...and more and more. He cared for her...and that was why he was here now.

"I'm sorry that you couldn't become Hokage, Kushina," he started, nervously. She had never lashed out at him before, so he was not expecting her to hit him or anything, but still, knowing she was upset did not make broaching the subject easy.

She sighed, closed her eyes and looked down at the ground. "It's okay, Minato." Her voice sounded disappointed, but he felt it was not him she was angry at and felt himself relax. "I don't blame you. I guess I was shooting pretty high," she said, putting on a fake smile that he saw through completely, "being a foreign born Kunoichi and all." Then she crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing as she stared at the ground. "Stupid system..." he heard her mumble, "stupid politics..."

Minato bit his lip. He hoped she would not take what he was about to suggest badly. The last thing he ever wanted was to make her upset, especially when she was already sore about the subject. However, he could not think of any way. She was a tomboy, her long red hair the only thing that could be considered a feminine feature. He was not sure how she would react if he asked outright. "I know how much you wanted to become Hokage," he said, quickly and nervously, "so I have a suggestion...that is, if you want to hear it."

At once, her head came up and she stared at him with wide eyes. "Really?" She sounded confused. "What is it?"

He swallowed and rubbed the back of his head. He kept his gaze away from her, too nervous to see her reaction. "Well...if you become the Hokage's wife, then you could help him with everything that he does as Hokage...so in a sense, you'll have the job." He could not help but glance at her, nervously grinning. "What do you think about that?"

Kushina blinked, still looking confused. It was like she was slowly piecing the pieces together, but it was not entirely coming together. "Wait...so to get the job, I would have to be the Hokage's wife..." she said, slowly. Suddenly, she blinked rapidly as if it was occurring to her. "Wouldn't...wouldn't that make me your wife, Minato?"

"Well, yeah..." he replied, grinning nervously.

"Did you just propose to me?" she asked, almost screeching in shock. Kushina looked extremely surprised, just staring at him as if she had never seen him before ever and what he said was absolutely random.

And to Minato, it was all the reaction he needed. _She's taking it badly..._ Let down by her reaction, he sighed and felt disappointment overtake him. She was going to reject him. "Well...yes...I did..." He looked down at his Hokage hat, shifting it in his hand again. _Well, can't say I didn't try._

"That was the most cheesiest proposal I've ever heard!" Minato flinched at the words. He had never been on her bad side before, at least not the one that she earned her the nickname she was now known as. This was a new experience for him. He felt her hand on his shoulder. "But...since I love you, I'll forgive you for it and marry you anyway."

Minato nodded, so distraught that he did not make out what she had just said. "It's okay, I understand if you don't...wait..." His head came up and he gazed at her incredibly. Did she just say...? And the words after that, were they...? "Did you just say yes?" He felt hope filled him, the side that had just been depressed, screaming at him that he had misheard, but he could not have...right?

Kushina laughed, sighed happily and leaned against his shoulder. "Oh, Minato...everyone says I'm dense and you're the genius, but times like this, I wonder..."

Hesitantly, because he was still unsure if he had misheard, he placed his arm around her waist. "But that was a yes, right? For us to get married?" he asked, in a nervous voice. The whole thing sounded too good to be true.

"Yes, that was a yes." She laughed again. "I'll marry you, Minato."

At those words, which he was sure he could not have misheard, Minato grinned widely, his eyes closed and mouth wide enough his cheeks hurt. He grabbed Kushina's hand, brought her up and swung her around in the air, her long red hair flying around as they both laughed. The Hokage hat on the ground, almost forgotten in his happiness to share the role with the one person who meant so much to him.

He gently set her down, grasping her hands, feeling very light-headed. "That's great," he said, breathlessly. "I'm so glad you said yes!"

She chuckled. "Yes, but next time, try to be more upfront about it."

Minato shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I wasn't sure how else to do it. I thought about asking Sensei about it, but I think that was desperation talking."

Kushina stared at him like he was insane for even thinking the man who spent more time peeping around hot springs than training his genin team would be the prime go to guy for marriage proposal advice. "On second thought," she said, hastily, "you stay the way you are, Minato. Corny proposals and all."

They laughed. Minato picked up his hat and gave it to Kushina. They walked back to village, hand in hand, the hat on Kushina's head. After all, they would be helping each other in governing the village they had dreamed of protecting. She would need the appropriate clothing.

* * *

**Title: **Always Welcome**  
Genre: **General**  
Timeline: **Part One**  
Summary: **Teuchi could hear them; in the sounds of that voice, in movements, in that face. That's how he knew...that boy was their son.**  
Pairings: **MinaKushi, I suppose!**  
Rating: **G**  
Author's Notes: **Just a reflection piece on Teuchi, his thoughts on Naruto and his connection to Minato and Kushina

Teuchi did not need to look behind him to know the customer that approached the ramen stand. Excited chatter and hurried movements gave away his identity almost right away. "Hey! Old Man! Give me your best Miso Ramen!" stated the voice immediately as he took a seat.

_"I would like some Shouyu Ramen, sir."_

_"Shio Ramen, Old Man! Give me some Shio Ramen!"_

Unable to stop the smile or the memories that filled his head, Teuchi looked back at the twelve year old blond, blue eyed, orange clad ninja. "Right away, Naruto!" he responded and turned back to make the order.

Even after all this time, there were still some customers who could not believe he served the 'Kyuubi Brat' as he was secretly known in the village. Not only served him, but also happily with a smile! It had not cost him customers, but less people showed up whenever Naruto took a seat at the ramen stand.

They always asked him why. "Why do you serve that brat? Why do you put up with him?" was the common questions. "Do you have any idea what that brat does in his free time?" scoffed some, usually after Naruto preformed some prank.

To the latter question, Teuchi responded that, yes, he knew about Naruto's pranks. However, to the first questions, he had the same answer: "He's a good kid, deep down. Besides," he added, while the questioner scowled, "he reminds me of something that's missing."

No one knew what to make of the last part. The Third Hokage knew, but only smiled fondly as if having the same feelings toward Naruto. Every time Teuchi looked at the blond ninja, he always remembered two customers who frequented the stand many times in their youth and as adults during the years he trained under his father and after he took over Ichiraku. It made sense why he always thought that.

Because Naruto was their son.

The first time Sarutobi brought Naruto to Ichiraku Ramen, the boy had been four years old. Teuchi, like many villagers, did not see the connection. At first, he had been reluctant to serve the little blond boy, but the Hokage sat next to him and Teuchi knew quite well what he thought of the boy. Also, it would have been rude to not serve Naruto and Teuchi would not act that way toward any customer, regardless of who they were.

So that was how it started. Teuchi had tried to smile, making the best of the situation, and asked the four year old, "So, what would you like?"

Large blue eyes had looked up at him and Teuchi had felt a flicker of seeing them somewhere before. "Uh...Shio? Miso?" The boy had looked back over to the Hokage, uncertain of what he should be doing. Sarutobi had nodded, reassuring him that he was doing it right. "Okay, two bowls! Shio and Miso!" replied Naruto, excitedly, holding up a hand with two little fingers out.

_"Oi! I want some Shio Ramen, Old Man!"_

The memory had surfaced unbidden in his mind causing Teuchi to pause for a moment and frown. Why had he thought of her? She had been dead for nearly five years now. Mentally shaking it off, he had turned to Sarutobi to take his order and then off to fix them.

Perhaps it would have remained that way; an unbidden memory that was later brushed off had it not been for his twelve year old daughter at the time. As the Hokage ate his ramen and young Naruto dropped his chopsticks, slipping off his stool to pick them up, Ayame had came out to take some bowls away to clean and dropped the carrier at once, her eyes staring at their two customers in shock.

Teuchi had whirled around, going back and forth, seeing Ayame's shocked face, to Naruto's head peeking over the stand, not realizing anything was wrong, and Sarutobi's frown at the possible reaction to Naruto's presence.

_She's going to say something bad!_ had been Teuchi's first thought. Not wanting the Hokage's disapproval, he started toward his daughter, but then stopped as her shocked face gave way to glee and tears started to form at the edges of her eyes.

Confused at this reaction, Teuchi had stared as Ayame walked forward, shaking, as if afraid of something. "Mina..." she whispered, but trailed off when Naruto turned his head, curiosity plastered on his face.

Her face had fallen at once, now sad, mournful, and, oblivious to Naruto's gaze, went back to the door, picked up her carrier and back to work.

Not knowing what to make of the incident, Teuchi had turned to the Hokage. Sarutobi was frowning, carefully taking in Naruto's reaction or lack there of, and watching Ayame as if fearing something had gone wrong.

Teuchi had hoped the incident would be forgotten by the Hokage as he got back to work, acting as if Ayame had done nothing. However, in the back of his mind, he had worried. Would the Hokage do anything to them? Had they broken any laws the Hokage had set down concerning Naruto? Sarutobi said nothing about it as he and Naruto finished up, the child declaring he liked Miso better than Shio Ramen, and went on their way.

As soon as the day had ended and the shop had closed up, Teuchi had confronted his daughter on her behavior, hoping to get to the bottom of what had happened. "Ayame," he had asked, "what happened to you today when Hokage-sama was at our stand?"

He would always remember her response. It remained etched into his mind, even to this day. His daughter had looked up at him with sad eyes. "I thought it was Minato-san sitting there with the Hokage, Dad."

Teuchi had startled, not expecting the answer. Why would his daughter mistake the late Fourth Hokage with the boy he used to seal the Kyuubi within? "Minato? Why did you think he was sitting there?"

"Remember how Minato-san would always hide behind the stand and scare me when I was little?" she had responded and Teuchi nodded, remember the only prank Minato had ever done. It had started off innocently: he had dropped his chopsticks and knelt down to pick them up, only his blond hair showing above the stand. Ayame, very young and wondering what had happened to Minato, approached their customer and he had stood up, scaring her. Kushina and Teuchi, with Minato slightly sheepish, had laughed as poor Ayame yelled at him in childish fury, "Why did you do that for, Minato-san! You scared me!"

Afterward, Kushina had egged Minato on repeat it and he complied. He had continued to feel fairly bashful over it, but usually ended up laughing with them as Ayame complained. How they got along with Teuchi and Ayame had been one of many things that made Minato and Kushina's visits to Ichiraku so enjoyable. It was also one of many moments that had Teuchi secretly musing over how his two customers would have made terrific parents...

At his nod, Ayame continued, looking downward, still distraught, "Well, that boy looked like Minato-san ready to surprise me again, so I thought it was him." She had looked ready to cry as Teuchi thought back to little Naruto, hunched over his ramen, certainly could have resembled a Minato hiding behind the stand to scary Ayame. "I thought it was him and I was so surprised he was back, but then that boy looked up and I knew it wasn't him...Minato-san's not coming back."

Ayame had been close to tears now. Teuchi had tried to comfort her the best he could and she went to bed early, saying she did not feel like staying up any longer.

But the incident had caused Teuchi to seriously study Naruto after that. He had watched the boy every time the Hokage brought him around and slowly started to see some things. He realized Naruto had Kushina's face and eyes and resembled Minato in looks, his blue eyes and bright blond hair.

The boy acted like Kushina, always chattering away, acting up in a manner that was acceptable for most boys, but instantly gained Kushina a tomboy status. Every story he heard about Naruto made the comparison to the red haired woman more obvious. The way he yelled at people when picked on and the trouble he got into.

He resembled Minato, too, in little ways that Teuchi would had missed had he not been looking. During their talks, Naruto always told Sarutobi that he wanted to be acknowledged more than anything, just like Minato's goal was to become Hokage to be acknowledged. And just like Minato, Naruto grinned broadly, his eyes closed, mouth wide, and, if Teuchi had not known the Fourth had been dead for years, he would have thought he was years younger, with a very young Minato at his ramen stand.

With so many similarities, Teuchi could not help but wonder if perhaps this boy, this boy the Fourth Hokage sealed the Kyuubi within, had been Minato and Kushina's own son.

Back in the present, Teuchi smiled as he brought Naruto his ramen. "Here you go. Miso Ramen, just the way you like it!"

Naruto grinned. "All right!" He plucked up some chopsticks, broke them apart and quickly said, "Itadakimasu!" before diving into the bowl.

In his mind's eye, Minato and Kushina sat right next to Naruto, cheerfully eating their ramen as well.

"_I thought you would notice,"_ Sarutobi had groaned after Teuchi confronted him with his feelings nearly a year and half later. "_After Ayame's reaction when we first came there, I wondered if you might. I hope you haven't mentioned this to anyone else? I do not want this spreading around to the village. Naruto has so many things going against him right now. Minato's enemies are the last thing he needs nor do I wish for anyone else to eye him. If he seems like an average boy wanting to be a ninja, people won't try to take him, taking away his personality and dreams, molding him into a 'perfect' ninja."_

Teuchi did not know what to make of the last part, through he could hardly fathom Naruto being anything other than his eager, excited self. However, he recognized the need to keep Naruto safe, so he had promised the Hokage he would not breath a word about his discovery to anyone.

And that was how it remained for many years. Naruto always came to Ichiraku ramen, days with Sarutobi and days without, once he was big enough. Teuchi and Ayame, no longer mistaking him for Minato, welcomed him with open arms. Even when times were hard, when Naruto felt worse than he had ever been, the Hokage and the Ramen Stand remained a comfort...until he meet Iruka and Team 7.

"Hey, Old Man!" called out Naruto, as he put down his finished bowl. "Let's mix it up this time! Can I have some Shouyu Ramen, instead?"

"_Teuchi-san? Would Shouyu Ramen be good?"_

"_Of course, it's good, Minato! Teuchi, get him some Shouyu Ramen! Let him taste a bit of everything since this is his first time here!"_

"_Wait, wait, Kushina-san! I can't eat so many bowls of ramen!"_

Teuchi laughed, remember the antics of Ichiraku's last two favorite customers. "Of course, Naruto! Some Shouyu Ramen coming up! In fact," he added, as the memory of Minato and Kushina's first trip to the stand remained fresh in his mind, "how about I make you a bowl of each kind we have? On the house."

Naruto's eyes lit up like he had been told he had just made Jounin. "Really? You mean it?" he questioned, but upon seeing it confirmed, he broke out into a grin. "All right! Bring it on, then, Old Man Teuchi! Thanks a lot!"

Ayame chuckled as she started gathering the ingredients needed for the coming onslaught to make every kind of ramen they made. Teuchi went to work as Naruto eagerly waited for the order. _Don't worry about him,_ he thought. _We'll take care of him, Minato, Kushina. Your son is well taken care of at your favorite stand._ He laughed, not caring whether he attracted attention from his customer or his daughter. _Naruto will always be welcomed here, just like the two of you were. _

Teuchi looked over his shoulder to see Naruto staring at him curiously, but the boy quickly broke out into a grin, looking every bit like his parents when they sat down in that very spot...so many years ago.

_Family is always welcomed here._

* * *

Second Way: After the chapter came out on Kushina's kidnapping and rescue, I wrote out a script for this. It was completely random, just dialogue and ended at Kushina's statement on who was the real genius between them. I found it funny, so I ended up expanding it a little. I like the idea that Minato, despite being a genius, would fumble around romance. It's kind of cute!

Also, haven't you ever wondered why we never see Minato in the Hokage hat? Well...this is kind of my reasoning for it. Minato used it in place of a engagement ring! Sort of! XD Love MinaKushi!

Always Welcome: This originated from a discussion on if Teuchi knew about Naruto's parents. I'm guessing the canon answer is no, he doesn't. We don't know if MinaKushi went to Ichiraku ramen or how Naruto got introduced to it (I've heard rumors Iruka was the one), however, this is fanfiction! I can do whatever! XD So I wrote a reflection on Teuchi recalling how he realized Naruto was the son of Minato and Kushina.

Minato didn't have a specific favorite food (anything Kushina cooks), so I just chose Shouyu Ramen for him. I figure since Kushina likes ramen, Minato would have had to ate it at some point! Since Ayame would have been very young when Minato and Kushina died, I imagine around that age, she would 'take' orders from customers to help Teuchi! ^_^ Later, it would evolve into picking up dishes, like in my fic, to take back and on until she's in her current position.

Done with the notes! I had a lot to talk about this time! Sorry for the rambling if it bothers you any!

Thanks for reading! - NessaMoon


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